Incoming Umno president Abdullah Ahmad Badawi promised party members they would have a hand in the selection of candidates for the coming general election. The premier-in-waiting has made it clear that this is a promise that he intends to keep.

However, the burning question now is whether this 'strategy' would solve existing problems or will it create more?

Or is Abdullah, via his promise, hinting that the current selection process is trouble-laden that a new one is urgently required?

Selecting candidates for the general election is always a major headache for all political parties.

However, one thing that Abdullah has made clear is that those picked should be the ones who would garner votes in order to ensure Umno's victory.

Committees dissolved

His first move was to dissolve the existing divisional committees and replace them with pro tem committees.

This helped to solve one major problem - henceforth the choice of candidates is no longer based on their positions in the party.

Prior to this, priority is given to the division head, his deputy and leaders of the Wanita and Umno Youth wings. This is to reflect the support they have in their respective divisions.

However, with the committees dissolved, everybody is in the race for candidacy as long as they possess the needed qualities.

Probably, this will be followed by an improved set of criteria that election candidates must observe such as clean background, past performance, loyalty to the party and most importantly, their ability to win in the coming general election.

The move caused jitters among divisional leaders. There is fear that the decision is partly a move to replace existing parliamentarians and state assembly representatives in the next polls.

It evoked immediate resistance when Wanita Chief Rafidah Aziz leaked it to the media.

Later, Abdullah had to clarify that the existing divisional committees would be appointed into the pro tem committees.

He further reasoned that the dissolution is necessary following the re-delineation of election borders which have cut into the majority of party divisions.

As a result, many branches are now in new divisions. In order to streamline the changes, all divisional committees had to be dissolved and replaced by pro tem committees.

'House-cleaning'

In one way, this makes sense but it fails to allay fears that it could also facilitate changes in the divisional line-up.

Through the appointment of pro tem committees, Abdullah could exercise his authority as the new president to strengthen his support at all levels.

Furthermore, the incoming premier has made it clear that about 35 percent of parliamentarians and state assembly representatives would be replaced either due to old age or for under-performing.

And this would also allow party leaders who have earlier voiced their preparedness to relinquish their posts to do just that in order for Abdullah to have a free hand to choose his team for the coming general elections.

And for these leaders - including menteris besar and cabinet ministers - this would be the time to prove that the party is above their personal interests.

In a nutshell, the move to dissolve divisional committees can be described as a multi-pronged strategy, which will help facilitate the 'house-cleaning' exercise to prepare the party for the coming polls.




This is the second of a three-part series. Next: Who will be Pak Lah's deputy? The first part looked at the party at its transitional stage.